Evan Boehm is Hoping to Call the Dolphins His New Long-Term Home

Photo by Jeffrey Beall: Evan Boehm in his earliest NFL days with Arizona

Evan Boehm has finally made his debut with the Dolphins against the Los Angeles Chargers, who left Florida with a comprehensive 30-10 victory in Week 4. A bye week for the luckless Dolphins couldn’t come soon enough. But despite the disappointment surrounding the Dolphins’ start to the 2019-20 NFL campaign, Boehm could yet be a ray of light in an otherwise dark, dismal season. The franchise acquired Boehm as part of a deal with Indianapolis, granting them an undisclosed conditional 2020 NFL Draft pick in the other direction.

Evan Boehm: From late-starter to one of the nation’s best guard hopefuls

The general feeling among Dolphins fans since his signing has been positive, with hope abound that he can prove more than just a useful sub. However, Boehm’s aspirations appear to be much higher than that, as he seeks to put down some roots with an NFL franchise for the foreseeable future. Boehm first caught the eye playing college football with Missouri, featuring in 52 consecutive games, which is still a record today.

Boehm certainly caught the eye in his early years. He was a late bloomer when it came to football, having spent considerable team as a wrestler and soccer player before. When he eventually turned his attentions to football, he discovered that his balance and fleet-footedness from wrestling stood him in good stead on the football field. He soon had a clutch of scholarship proposals from colleges. At the time of moving into college football, ESPN regarded him as the second-best guard in the U.S.

His chance in the big leagues came in 2016 when he was a fourth-round pick for Arizona. However, following two seasons with the Cardinals and a season with the Colts, Boehm has only managed 13 starts at centre/guard. Following his switch to “Magic City”, Boehm hopes that it’s an opportunity for Miami to become his long-term home as an NFL star. Having failed to cement himself as a regular in the NFL, Boehm has a steely determination to prove that he’s “not just some guy off the street” and has the ability to become a “dominant physical force” for the Dolphins.

Photo by Adam First: Dolphins Stadium is just crying out to witness some winning football

As most Dolphins fans will attest, expectations are at rock bottom right now for their team. Most Super Bowl futures lines have placed Miami as the least likely franchise to qualify for and win the Super Bowl in January. For the Dolphins, it’s more a case of steady evolution, as they attempt to become more competitive. Just experiencing that winning feeling is something that most Dolphins fans crave for 2019-20.

Synergy between Boehm and DeGuglielmo could be key

There is hope that the Dolphins’ offense could be boosted by Boehm’s reunuion with offensive line coach, Dave DeGuglielmo, who coached Boehm with Indianapolis in 2018-19. Boehm admits that DeGuglielmo is someone that can get the best out of him. Although he has big aspirations and a huge amount of self-belief, Boehm was the first to admit that the first few weeks of this campaign have been something of a “whirlwind” as he seeks to build cohesion in a new offensive unit.

Once things begin to settle down for Boehm and the rest of the team, he hopes that things will start to look brighter, as they steadily clear the number of plays given away per game. Week 6 could be a chance for the tables to start turning for the Dolphins, who entertain the Washington Redskins and arrive in Florida with an 0-5 record for the season so far having fired their head coach too. If they cannot manage a positive result against the manager-less Redskins, the writing could be well and truly on the wall for Boehm and the Dolphins.

Having already been outscored by 163-26 in their opening four games, pundits have predicted that this Dolphins roster could become one of the worst-performing NFL teams of all time. However, if Boehm has his way, ballgames will be very different stories for Miami before the year is out.